


in the crystal silence

by realheroesweartights



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Angst, F/M, M/M, Multi, but here, i don't even know what this is, oh god so much angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-20
Updated: 2015-03-23
Packaged: 2018-03-18 13:14:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3570959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realheroesweartights/pseuds/realheroesweartights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Riley wakes up sore one day. Like most injuries sustained in battle, it's manageable. Unlike most of them, it gets worse.</p><p>Or, the AU in which the expression 'clear as crystal' becomes far too literal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day One

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea in the middle of class a few days ago and had to fight not to immediately walk out to write it. I'm still not sure it'll all that good, but here we go anyway.

On the first day, Riley woke up sore.

It's something he'd sadly gotten used to since being a Ranger. Growing up on a farm and having an interest in fencing, it could never be said that he wasn't an active person, but chasing pigs around a pen for a few minutes didn't quite take the toll on your body that fighting off monsters on a weekly basis did. 

This week's monster had been a female, something a little unusual for their team (though who was he to judge the gender segregation of alien miscreants?). As Shelby had put it once they had returned to the base, she resembled a cross between "the gaudiest jewelry store on Earth and an Atlas moth." Riley couldn't fault her for being descriptive. Unfortunately, as so often happened with Sledge's minions, appearances were deceiving. Crystalis, as she called herself, was a fast mover and an even faster shot. Though he hated to recall his battles, always cursing himself out for one mistake or another when he did, he couldn't forget-

_"Chase!" he called out, desperate to get the older's attention. He was surrounded by Vivix on all sides, holding his lance out in front of him to clear some sort of circle for himself. From what he could hear of the battle next to him, the others weren't doing well either. Shelby and Tyler were crying out behind him, Koda was growling to his right, but where on earth was Chase?_

_Turning his head quickly, he managed to catch sight of his boyfriend, locking eyes with him through both of their helmets. "Riley!" Chase screamed, going to turn and run towards him. He nearly sighed in relief and went to start hacking through the Vivix when he spotted Crystalis, laughing as she raised her weapon high._

_"Black gems are just so rare these days. I can't wait to see how these turn out!" she giggled, the tip of her blaster following Chase as he ran. Riley's eyes immediately widened. Whatever her weapon was or what it did, he wasn't about to let Chase get hurt again. Within moments, he had sliced a path through the Vivix, barely even thinking as he did so. All of his mind was focused on protecting Chase._

_Everything seemed to slow down as Riley raced towards him. A stark white, almost glistening beam shot out of Crystalis' weapon. The shot was a perfect one. At the last moment, he grabbed Chase's helmet, forcing him down in time to take the blast._

_The reaction was instant. Every part of his body felt like it was frozen, an almost electric pain running through each appendage. His arms convulsed, chest burning, legs too crippled with torment to keep him upright. He heard someone screaming his name, a shriek of laughter, someone smirking, "Green gems are just as pretty..."_

Riley's memories ended there. He was told afterwards, when he'd finally woken up, that Chase had fought off dozens of Vivix to defend him before carrying him all the way back to the museum while the others had finished Crystalis off. Needless to say, his boyfriend had earned quite a few kisses upon awakening- after, of course, giving a lecture about how stupid he was to take on all of those soldiers by himself, and receiving one in return about not taking blasts for other Rangers. 

Disrupting him from his thoughts, Chase rolled over in bed, crumpling up the ebony covers. "Morning, little raptor," he smiled almost teasingly, his voice still clouded with sleepiness, deepening it in a way that sent shivers up Riley's spine. "How're you feeling?" 

"I'm okay," Riley murmured, forcing himself to shift over. He found a place in Chase's arms, resting his head against his shoulder. "Sore. But you know." 

"Yeah, I know," Chase countered, kissing Riley's forehead in sympathy. Every member of the team had, at some point, been rendered practically immobile due to the pain in their muscles. Fighting off an army of foot soldiers followed by defeating an intergalactic criminal wasn't exactly on par with a day at the gym. "You want me to call in?" 

"Not unless you're too sore," Riley murmured. "It isn't that bad." 

"Ri, you were hit by a blast. And Kendall doesn't know what it did-" 

"Chase." The word got the other's attention instantly, making him look down to meet Riley's eyes. "I'm fine. Trust me. It's just a little soreness. Nothing I haven't worked through." Sometimes Riley wondered if his boyfriend remembered that he had earned the right to be a Ranger as much as the rest of them 

Thankfully, Chase seemed to get the hint, a sheepish look spreading over his face. "Right. Sorry, love." 

"It's fine." Though he would have been content to stay on Chase's chest for the rest of the morning, he forced himself to sit up, stretching out his arms to try to warm up the muscles somehow. 

Chase watched him as he stretched, his usual cheeky smirk setting in on his face. "Besides, we don't need you getting too sore. Then you couldn't do, you know... other things." 

"Chase?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Shut up." 

 

About an hour after he and Chase finally forced themselves out of bed and to the museum, Riley found himself regretting not telling Chase to call in sick.

It's some girl named Kayla's fifth birthday, and if the banners Koda and Tyler already hung up everywhere that had covered half of the cafe floor in glitter didn't give it away, the screaming certainly would. Since the museum opened, all the staff had heard was screaming and giggling and footsteps running everywhere. It wasn't helping any of their moods (especially Shelby, who kept grumbling about how she 'heard all this crap enough at home'.) Still, Riley was sure he could tolerate it until his shift was over- that was, until they stormed the Dino Bite Cafe, mouths practically foaming with need for one thing. 

The chants of "cake!" could be heard from the dining room, even from the back of the kitchen. Even with the soreness in his arms and legs still getting in his way, Riley had to smile gently. He'd lost his taste for sweets for a while after fighting Cavity, but the way the kids were chanting as if cake were the holy grail of all matter in the universe still had to make him laugh. 

Of course, the peace was shattered within moments. Shelby entered the kitchen with Silly String covering her shirt, arms folded and brow furrowed as she walked into the back. "Riley," she said, though it didn't really sound like she was talking to anyone in particular. "If I ever say I want kids, shoot me. It's a fake." Riley just nodded, not quite sure whether to be amused or genuinely wary. His confusion shifted quickly to consternation at her next question, delivered from the other side of a cabinet door: "Where's the cake?" 

"What do you mean?" he asked, going to stand beside her. Where there had previously been a three-story mass of sugar and sprinkles, now there sat nothing but a few lonely crumbs. The pervasive chanting from the dining room made chills run up his spine as the tone went from endearing to hostile. Who could have possibly touched the one thing they needed? 

"Why... tiny ones chant for cake?" Riley and Shelby turned at the same time to reveal Koda standing in the doorway, frosting and Silly String both splattered on his uniform, sprinkles surrounding his mouth. 

It took them both about two seconds to realize just what had happened, and about one second after to start panicking. "Okay, so we have a crowd of hungry kids, parents that are getting angry, and Koda just ate the one thing that would cure both of those," Shelby listed, trying not to keep from totally freaking out. Riley began to pace as she did so, trying to think of some way to hold off the kids. 

"Riley, distract them." 

"What? Me?" Riley's head flew up, an indignant look crossing his face. "Why do I have to do it?" 

"Because our boyfriends are nowhere to be found, Koda has the evidence all over his shirt, and I can kick your ass right here and now." Shelby's face told him clearly that he wasn't joking. 

Riley looked towards Shelby, then Koda, then back towards Shelby before he sighed, taking in a deep breath as he went out into the dining room. With any luck, the day would be done and over with before he even knew it. 

 

"You look like shit," Chase commented with a laugh as Riley dragged himself in through the front door of their flat. 

"Thanks," Riley snapped, forcing off his uniform, which was now covered in cake, remnants of when the birthday girl had decided to start a food fight with the sweets that Shelby had just about lost it making. As soon as the first bit was thrown, she had stormed out without another word. He couldn't exactly blame her. However, because of her absence (and Tyler's, suspiciously), he and Koda had been forced to clean up the entire room by themselves. "Where were you? We could have used another set of hands." 

"I was just talking to Kendall is all. Keeper's going away for a few days- something about a lead on an Energem, he thinks." Chase shrugged, and for a moment Riley had to stop himself from berating him for not paying more attention. "She just wants us all to be on our guard, since he's not going to be around to help us out." 

Riley just nodded, forcing his shoes off his feet before collapsing down onto the couch, head flopping into Chase's lap. His eyes closed almost without prompting as he curled up on his side, desperate for some kind of affection. Chase, thankfully, seemed to realize his feelings, reaching a hand down to comfort him. "What's going on, babe?" he hummed, running his fingers through his hair, making Riley let out soft sighs of content. "Talk to me." 

Riley nearly took his words as a prompt, ready to rant about how exhausted he was and how they were never having kids and how the soreness in his arms and legs still hadn't gone away in the slightest. He stopped himself only at the last minute. Chase didn't need to hear all about that. None of it was his fault. Besides, it wasn't that big of a deal. There had been worse. 

"Nothing," he mumbled, eyes still closed as his breathing slowly became heavier. "Just tired." 

"Sleep then, babe," Chase told him, still carding his fingers through his hair. "It's okay." 

For a second, Riley considered getting up and forcing himself to get dinner ready or straighten up the house, but Chase's soft voice and gentle touches were enough to convince him otherwise. "I love you," he whispered, re-positioning himself slightly before giving in to sleep. 

The last thing he heard before he finally drifted off was Chase's quiet voice: "Love you too, baby raptor." 


	2. Day Two

On the second day, Riley woke up with a backache. 

He supposed that, in honesty, the backache woke him up. He was in the middle of a very pleasant dream involving playing basketball with his fellow Rangers on some other planet when he had realized just how cold it was on his side of the bed. Figuring Chase had stolen the covers, he had attempted to roll over and cuddle up to him for warmth, only for a sudden pain in his back to stop him.

Riley knew well what soreness felt like, as evidenced from the day before, but he couldn't remember any pain feeling quite like this. It was sharp, widespread, almost like shards of glass being stabbed into his back over and over. He let out a soft groan, rolling back over in hopes that the pain would end. It didn't, instead merely fading slightly until it was somewhat bearable.

As he was recovering from the pain, he felt Chase next to him, letting out a groan of his own as he rolled over. "Y'alright, love?" he slurred, eyes not quite opened yet. 

Riley had to stop himself from smiling too widely at his boyfriend's sleepy face, which wasn't too difficult due to the remaining pain. "Yeah, I'm fine. My back just hurts."

Chase's eyes flickered open at that, worry clear in them as he looked over Riley's face. "Where does it hurt? Shoulders?"

"Yeah," Riley murmured. "It's just kind of everywhere."

Chase's features softened further as he shifted over, spreading the blankets out over them both. "Do you want a back rub, then? Been told I'm pretty good at those." Riley nearly rolled his eyes before seeing the sincerity in Chase's face. One thing he could never fault his boyfriend on was how seriously he took it whenever a team member was hurt, especially him. Sometimes he needed to be reminded that there was genuine care behind all of his comments. 

"Yeah. Please. Hold on." Riley once again made an attempt to roll over, biting his lip to stop himself from crying out a second time.

If Chase was worried, he didn't say anything as he placed his hands on Riley's shoulders, digging his thumbs into the blades. Riley cried out against the pressure, biting down harder on his lip to the point he could taste blood. "Does that feel alright?" Chase asked.

"Fine," Riley lied easily, taking a deep breath. "Good. It's good. Thank you."

Chase simply hummed, continuing to press his fingers into Riley's back. It didn't seem to help with the pain much, but Riley brushed it off. It would help later, he was sure of it. 

"Better?" Chase offered after a while, removing his fingers, but keeping them a few inches from Riley's shoulder blades just in case. Riley simply nodded, not sure if he was in the mood to lie again. Chase was silent for a moment before telling him, "You could just call in sick. Kendall wouldn't mind that much."

"No." Riley immediately shut down any mention of staying home. "What if Sledge attacks the city?" 

"Then you stay home and rest up while the rest of us handle it. We can survive without you, you know," Chase joked, shaking his head. "C'mon. It's one day."

Riley shook his head as he forced the covers off of himself, standing up and stretching once again. Trying to ignore both the pain in his back and Chase's begging for him to stay, he shuffled into the kitchen to round up some breakfast. He was sure work couldn't possibly be _that_ bad.

 

As it turned out, work was indeed _that_ bad.

It had started when Riley and Chase had clocked in and went to go check in with Kendall, only to immediately be tugged away by Tyler. "We have to hurry," he gasped out as they ran. "The museum opens in ten minutes and Shelby and Koda are nowhere to be found."

"You can't just call your girlfriend?" Chase scoffed, making Tyler roll his eyes.

"I tried. She's not answering. Kendall's trying to track her down, but I haven't heard any distress signals," Tyler told them both as they rounded the corner to the cafe. Quickly, he tossed a mop at Riley and a wet rag to Chase. "Start wiping the floor and cleaning off the tables. I'm going to fire up the grill."

Riley and Chase exchanged a Look before going to follow Tyler's panicked orders. Locating the bucket, Riley began to mop up the floor around the cafe entrance, trying to ignore the pain in his back. It wasn't quite as sharp as it had been that morning, but it still ached to move. Still, he had more important things to worry about. Tyler was rushing around like a madman trying to get everything done, yet he could see in his eyes the genuine panic that something had happened to Shelby. 

Chase seemed to sense the same thing, piping up, "Tyler, just go talk to Kendall already. Riley and I can handle it." Though Riley wasn't sure if he could handle anything by this point, he nodded along.

Tyler looked between them both, worriedly asking, "You mean it?" After nods from them both, he let out a sigh, abandoning his apron at his post. "Thanks so much, guys," he called as he left, rushing into the back of the kitchen.

Riley was about to offer to man the grill, hoping that staying in one spot might help take some strain off the aches in his back and the returning pains in his extremities, when Chase raced forward to claim it himself. "You alright cleaning?" he asked as he began to root through the fridge for supplies, making Riley sigh. Just like Chase, not giving anyone a real choice. 

"It's fine," Riley told him, not sure what else he really could do. "I'm okay. I'll live."

Chase smiled and went back to turning on the grill, leaving Riley to continue mopping up the floor. All he could hope for was a little bit of relief.

 

As soon as Chase managed to unlock the front door of their apartment, Riley walked right past him to flop onto the couch, limbs flying everywhere. His one groan of pain was enough to let Chase know that Riley had overworked himself- yet again, he thought to himself.

"You could have stayed home," he reminded him quietly, crouching down by the couch to skirt his hands over his boyfriend's back, removing his sweatshirt with his other hand. "Kendall wouldn't have minded, I bet."

He was met with grumbles that would have been incoherent to anyone else. Luckily, he knew his boyfriend well enough to translate. "But Shelby was fine. She was at the cafe within the hour, right? And even if she wasn't, Tyler could have pulled it off, and Kendall helps us out plenty. We would have been fine." 

Riley forced himself to move his head the slightest bit to the right so he and Chase could actually have a real conversation. "I'm fine. Believe me. I'm okay."

"Riley, shut up," Chase sighed, leaning in to kiss his lips in order to assist. "You don't have a choice. I'm calling us both in sick tomorrow, and you're resting." Before Riley could even make a noise of discontent, he rushed off to the phone and dialed the museum. Even though he totally trusted Riley, sometimes he did wonder why on earth he insisted on working so hard.

After a few minutes of explaining the situation and arranging an evaluation with Kendall and Keeper for the day after, Chase returned to tell Riley the news, only to be faced with the most adorable sight he'd ever seen. 

Riley had taken his sweatshirt off the floor and wrapped himself in it, pulling the hood up over his head and tugging the laces tight. His arms were wrapped around himself as he dozed off, breathing slowing down to a steady pace. Chase had to fight not to run off to get his phone and take a picture. Instead, he walked over to his sleeping boyfriend, scooping him up in his arms and carrying him off to their bedroom.

He could only wish the pain would cease the next day.


	3. Day Three

On the third day, Riley woke up freezing.

It wasn't the fact that Chase wasn't in bed for some reason, although that was cause for concern. Normally, Chase had to be dragged out of bed, either by an alarm or movements from Riley. Though Chase's location was cause for concern, all he could think of was the cold.

The cold was scattered through all of his body, based in his spine and spreading down to the tips of his toes. It felt like solid ice spreading through his veins, covering his skin, leaving him motionless. With the ice slowly came numbness, which led on to searing pain, almost like the frostbite he'd caught when he was young. Riley struggled to breath through the pain and layers of ice, trying to find some way to keep himself from giving into the torture. Chase, he told himself, even as his mind felt like it was slipping. Chase, Chase, think of Chase...

"Babe?" The word jolted him suddenly, shattering through the frost to bring him back to the warmth of reality. Riley panted for breath as his eyes darted around the room, taking in the scene. He was still in their bedroom. There were warm covers over his body, likely placed there by Chase. Speaking of the other, he was kneeling beside the bed, one hand on each of his shoulders, looking more concerned than he'd ever seen him. "Babe, shh, it's alright. It's alright, love. What's going on? Was it a nightmare?"

Riley took in deep breaths, shaking hands finding a place on Chase's arm. "I-I... I think so," he told him. It had to have been a dream. How else could he have been so frozen with fear? All it was was a nightmare. "I-"

"Ri," Chase cut him off, knowing that he was going to dismiss his pain. "You don't have to be strong all the time, you know." Reaching a hand up to cup his cheek, he kissed Riley's forehead before shifting down to look him in the eyes. Riley only blushed, making Chase smile. "C'mon, love. Time for breakfast."

"You went out and bought breakfast?" Riley asked, a light smile spreading over his face.

Chase shook his head softly as he stood up, bending down to carry Riley into the kitchen, making the younger giggle slightly. "Nope. I made it myself." 

Riley smiled down at Chase, nuzzling up closer to him. "Remind me again how I got so lucky."

"That'd take all day," Chase laughed, letting go of Riley to sit him down at the breakfast table. He kissed his cheek before fetching two large plates, setting them down on the table. "Behold, the Kiwi Breakfast. Eggs, toast, tomatoes, mushrooms, hashbrowns, and baked beans." 

Riley stared down at the plate for a moment, struggling not to lean up and kiss Chase then and there, when he let out a giggle. "You guys have tomatoes and baked beans for _breakfast_?"

"Hey, no mocking the Kiwis," Chase scoffed in false offense, taking his own plate and sitting across from Riley. His right hand reached out to hold Riley's left as they began eating. 

There was silence for a while as Riley tried to process how on earth his boyfriend had made even mushrooms appetizing when Chase brought up, "Feeling any better?"

Riley considered going for one of his trademark dismissals, but decided against it. Chase seemed irritated enough at him for it. "I don't know. I feel really cold. My back's still killing me, and my legs hurt a lot. But my arms are a little better."

Chase frowned through a mouthful of toast, swallowing it before he murmured, "Do you think you're coming down with something?"

"I don't think so. Unless one of the kids from the party gave me something," Riley shrugged gently, wincing as he stretched out his back. Chase moved his hand down to Riley's shoulder, forcing him to sit down again.

"Did the back rub help?"

"No," Riley admitted softly. "Not really. It kind of hurt to put pressure on it." 

Chase frowned in confusion. "Maybe you should see a doctor. Just in case." 

Riley was about to argue when Chase's communicator buzzed from the other side of the table. He reached over to grab it, pressing down on the side button. "What's going on?"

Kendall's voice soon came through the communicator. "Chase, you and Riley need to come in. Keeper sent you both a message. It sounds urgent."

"C'mon," Chase sighed, looking over at Riley as he spoke. "Can't it wait? We're throwing a sickie."

As Riley mouthed back the Kiwi phrase in confused amusement, Kendall sighed, "Normally, I would say yes, but it does sound important. He said for you to hear it as soon as possible."

"We'll be there in fifteen minutes," Riley said, ignoring Chase's frantic waving for him to stop. "Just let us finish up here." 

"See you then."

As soon as Kendall goes offline, Chase rolls his eyes. "You are the most impossible human I've ever met."

"And yet you love me," Riley teased, going to stand up, only to feel the icy sensation from before in his legs. Once again, he was paralyzed, unable to move, feeling like his feet were stuck to the floor. 

"Riley?" Chase asked, sounding a thousand miles away, his words echoing around his mind. "Riley? Babe?" 

_Think,_ he told himself. _Don't let Chase know._

After a few moments, Riley managed to take the tiniest step forward with his right foot, followed by his left. "Sorry," he mumbled, swallowing thickly. "Just got lost in thought for a second." Chase looked at him in concern, but Riley was off to the bedroom before Chase could say anything. 

Like it or not, their job wasn't the kind they could take a day off from.

 

"Fifteen minutes on the dot," Kendall shook her head in shock as Chase and Riley entered the cafe, hands intertwined. "I think you're changing him for the better, Riley."

"Hey," Chase scoffed in mock offense, placing his free hand over his chest. "I could have gotten myself here."

"Sure, fifteen minutes late," Kendall snapped in return before glancing over at Riley. "The message is encrypted, so I'll have to fully unlock it before you can see it. It shouldn't take long. Just wait here."

About five seconds after Kendall left, Riley walked over to the stack of aprons and put one on, beginning to search for his name tag. Chase grabbed his arm to stop him. "What are you doing?"

"Going to work," Riley told him casually, pinning on his name tag. He would have gone to start taking orders if Chase hadn't yanked him back.

"You are not. Babe, you're sick. You should be resting."

Riley sighed, turning around. "I'm sore, not impotent, Chase. And-" He glanced around, lowering his voice. "It's going to look really weird if we just stand here waiting around."

Chase stared him down for a few moments before sighing, "Fine. But I'm calling us in again tomorrow. You are getting some rest." Riley rolled his eyes as he turned his back, walking out into the cafe. A table in the corner seemed to be fairly new, so he approached them, taking out his pen and notebook.

 

From back in the kitchen, Chase sighed, hopping atop one of the counters. He loved Riley (he would be a fool not to) but as much as he hated to admit it, he didn't trust him. Riley was only sixteen, a baby even by regular standards. To balance a full-time job, a relationship, and being a Ranger was almost too much to ask of him, especially with an illness. His boyfriend always seemed so small to him, and there was always that fear in the back of his mind that, one day, something would shatter him.

"Chase?" Riley called, sounding irritated, making him snap out of his thoughts. "Can I have the breadsticks, please?" 

Chase turned his head quickly to see breadsticks in the oven, ones he couldn't even remember putting in. "Did you put those in?" he asked, shaking his head to clear it as he went over to pull them out.

Riley nodded. "Yeah, a few minutes ago. Don't worry about it." He took the breadsticks and piled them into a basket, pouring steaming marinara sauce into a cup beside it. Before Chase could bring up any of his concerns, he had left again. 

Sighing, Chase leaned back, hitting his head on the counter. Maybe he was just overreacting. Maybe Riley could handle himself. Maybe-

A scream brought him out of his thoughts. Instantly, he shot up, rushing into the dining room to figure out what had happened, keeping his morpher at the ready in case there was a monster wandering around.

What he was met with was not a monster, but a mess. Tomato sauce was spread out all over the floor, the container shattered on the floor. Laying in the mess, trying to sit up with breadsticks covering his body, was Riley. 

"Riley!" he gasped out, pulling him up from the messy ground. Riley was shivering in his arms, which worried him immensely. 

Realizing Riley was whispering something, Chase listened close, only to hear a shaky murmur. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I-I don't know what happened..."

"Hey, hey, it's okay, love," Chase whispered back to him, kissing Riley's cheek. "It's not your fault. We can talk later." He turned to apologize to whatever table Riley had been waiting on, only to see Tyler sweet-talking them while Koda cleaned up the mess. Smiling gratefully at them both, he carried Riley into the back, sighing as he buried his head in the crook of his neck.

Riley's soft muttering made Chase listen carefully. "Kendall needs to see us..."

"Hey, forget about her, alright? We'll just have to work some extra hours sweeping up in the base or something," Chase dismissed, kissing Riley's forehead. "You're more important, okay?"

Riley didn't respond, just curling up closer to Chase' chest as they walked out into the parking lot. Chase helped Riley into the car, careful not to get too much sauce on the seatbelt. "Just... go to sleep, okay, Ri?" Riley just hummed in response.

Sighing, Chase went around to the other side, slipping inside and driving off as soon as he could. Every few moments, he couldn't resist sneaking a peek over at Riley. The smaller boy was curled up on the seat, face looking more youthful than ever in sleep, even as the bumps in the road jostled him around. He furrowed his brow in slumber, making Chase bite his lip, sighing as he turned his eyes back on the road.

Something was wrong with Riley, and he was going to find out what.


	4. Day Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this entire thing during class today, so if I fail my tests tomorrow, remember I did it for you.

On the fourth day, Riley woke up to beeping.

It wasn't the normal blaring of his alarm clock, or even the smoke detector going off (as it sometimes did, when Chase went on one of his 'cooking misadventures'). Instead, the beeping came from his communicator, sitting on the bedside table before him.

Riley went to attempt to answer the distress call, only to realize he was yet again frozen in place. His fingers wouldn't move, nor his legs, nor his lips. Each part of him felt so stiff and heavy, too much to even consider moving one.

A sense of terror filled him as his eyes, the only part of him it didn't hurt to move, darted about the room. Chase's arms were wrapped around him from behind, and his soft snores echoed about the room. What if he slept through the alarm? What if Koda, Shelby, and Tyler were put in danger? What if-

His thoughts were disrupted by Chase suddenly rocketing out of sleep. Riley closed his eyes and tried to level his breathing, faking asleep. Even his lungs ached each time they expanded with air.

Shaking his head, Chase forced himself up from bed, stumbling over to his communicator. "What's going on?" he yawned.

Kendall's tinny voice came from the other end of the line. "Sledge sent another one of his monsters. It's going into the city and trying to capture citizens in what appear to be its webs."

"So it's a spider thing, eh?" Chase questioned her. Riley could pick out the fear in his voice, even as he tried to hide it. Spiders, as far as Riley knew, were Chase's biggest fear. 

Chase, however, must have put it from his mind, as he confidently declared, "I'm on my way."

Riley heard the communicator being dropped onto the table as Chase raced around the room, throwing on whatever clothes were lying around. There was the sound of footsteps headed for the door, but they suddenly paused and retreated. Riley felt a pair of chapped lips ghost itself over his forehead before Chase left, taking his warmth with him.

Now that Chase was gone, Riley decided, he needed to try to get up again. Taking one painful deep breath, he began to struggle against his body's own stiffness, forcing life into each cell in his body. The fight was agonizing, but eventually, he was able to wiggle his fingers, followed by moving his wrist.

Riley let out a sigh of relief as his body unfroze, sitting up when his legs felt stable. The sore feeling of the past few days had spread over to his chest and the base of his throat, which explained why breathing had been so difficult. Though he could move them, all of his limbs felt stiff, as if something was anchoring them into place.

Sighing again, Riley looked over and his communicator, then back at the bed. Maybe Chase was right. All of the others could hold their own in a fight. They didn't need him. He could just go back to sleep...

 _No,_ he told himself, pushing his body off the bed and going to find something to change into. They were a team, no matter what the circumstances.

Riley just hoped the fight would be easy- but then again, hoping hadn't taken him far lately.

 

Riley arrived fully morphed as the battle was in full swing. The monster really did resemble a monster, and for a moment, he had to wonder just how many alien species had insectoid qualities. 

He halted his thoughts as he took in the battlefield before him. Koda and Shelby seemed to be taking the spider head-on, while Tyler and Chase were doing their best against the Vivix. The fight was interrupted when the spider let out a bone-chilling cackle.

"Well, if it isn't the Green Ranger," it laughed. "You'll make quite a catch for Sledge!"

Four multicolored helmets turned towards him in disbelief. "Riley?" Tyler asked, trying to finish off the Vivix as he did so. "But Chase said you were home sick!"

"I was," Riley told him, rushing forth as best as he could with the remaining stiffness, "but I'm not leaving you guys alone." He began punching and kicking his way through the foot soldiers, staying closer to Tyler's side of things. Already he could sense that Chase was angry with him for leaving, and an argument was the last thing he needed.

The sound of two screams turned their helmets again, but this time towards the monster. It had knocked bother Shelby and Koda aside, and now seemed to be focused entirely on Riley. "Say goodbye to your Green Ranger," it laughed once more before launching a web in his direction.

The response should have been instant. All Riley had to do was rush out of the way and let Tyler surprise attack the thing from the side. Instead, Riley once again found himself frozen, feet stuck to the ground. No matter how much he attempted to lift his foot or even cry out for help, all he ended up with was pain. The net advanced on him, growing closer by the second. All Riley could do was close his eyes and plead for the pain to end.

For once, his hope led somewhere, although not in the direction he had assumed. Riley instead found himself tackled to the ground, Chase lying on top of him. "I told you to stay home," Chase nearly growled, and Riley swore he could feel his eyes burning into him, even through two helmets.

"I wanted to help," Riley snapped in return. He forced his head to the side to see Tyler and Shelby delivering the final blows to the monster.

Chase was the one to force his head back to face him, telling Riley, "We're talking when this is over."

A dark shadow over them disrupted their conversation, instantly informing them both that Sledge had once again supersized his monster. Sighing, Chase shouted over, "Koda, watch Riley. Make sure he doesn't move."

Riley went to argue that he was perfectly capable of operating a Zord, only for Chase to rush off to claim his own. Koda bent down in front of Riley, taking Chase's position, repeating, "You stay here."

"Koda, please," Riley begged, attempting to sit up, only for Koda to place a hand on his shoulder and force him down. "I need to help them."

Koda shook his head fiercely, keeping his hands on Riley's chest, even as the monster fell. Before letting him up, Koda looked Riley in the eye, making him shudder even through the dark glass.

_"Help yourself."_

 

"What the hell were you thinking?" Chase confronted Riley as soon as he stumbled into the lab, Koda by his side. "You were supposed to be at home. _Resting._ "

"You guys needed help," Riley argued. "I wasn't going to just sit there-"

"We didn't need anything! We were fine-"

"Look, it doesn't matter. In case you forgot, we're a team, and you're my boyfriend. I'm not going to sit by-"

"If you really cared about us, you would realize that you were just doing more harm than good. But I guess you're not as smart as you claim."

The words brought silence to the room, the rest of the team holding their breath as they studied the pair. In the silence, Chase suddenly noticed the tears in Riley's eyes, making his heart sink to the bottom of his chest.

"Ri-" Before he could even finish saying his name, Riley had raced out of the room as fast as he could. There was a moment's pause before Tyler raced after Riley, trying to stop him from straining his body further.

Chase stared after Riley as he left, feeling more hopeless than ever. Sighing in frustration, he collapsed into a chair, rubbing his temples in a futile attempt to relieve his sudden headache.

Koda slowly moved to sit on the floor beside Chase, while Shelby took a position by his left, leaning up against the wall. Chase barely noticed them until Koda piped up. "Chase thinks Riley is... not smart?"

"He is smart," Chase corrected him. "He's just an idiot."

Koda scratched his head in confusion, making Chase bite his lip, trying to find an explanation for his thoughts. "He's really, really smart. I've never seen anyone who thinks as quickly and as brilliantly as him- besides Kendall. But..." Chase sighed. "Lately, it's like he isn't thinking at all. You know, I keep telling him to take a break, get some rest, try to get better, and he keeps running off into danger! He fainted yesterday. Today, he almost got captured by Sledge. What's going to happen tomorrow?"

"Chase," Shelby spoke out, interrupting him to make him look up towards her. "I get that you're worried. But Riley knows what he's doing. He cares about protecting the world as much as the rest of us."

"But-"

"Look," Shelby cut him off. "When we were fighting Chrystalis, you were busy fighting off Vivix, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you were exhausted, weren't you?"

"Uh-huh," Chase nodded, still searching for her point in all of this.

"But when Riley got hit, you fought off all of the Vivix there to save him."

"Of course," Chase shook his head. "I had to. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't."

"And that's how he thinks. He has to be there- for you, me, Tyler, Koda, whoever." Shelby knelt down, meeting Chase's eyes again. "I think you two need to talk. Without yelling."

Chase sat in silence for a few minutes before he nodded. "Can you tell Kendall what happened?"

Shelby nodded, pulling him into a hug, a gesture Koda soon repeated. 

"You'll be okay. I believe in you.

 

Chase unlocked the front door as quietly as he could, pushing it open with his hip. Trying to keep an eye out for anything he could trip over, he made his way to the kitchen table, emptying his hands to spread out his gifts.

A bouquet of red and green roses sat near the edge of the table, one he'd searched three flower shops for. Next to the flowers was a green teddy bear- Chase had almost gone looking for another stuffed raptor, but decided it might take too long. Three bars of Riley's favorite chocolate, along with a bag of sour apple Jolly Ranchers, were next. Two candles, green and black, were ready to be lit for that night's dinner, followed by a bath oil Moana had told him did wonders for illness. At the very end of the spread were a bucket of fried chicken and a carton of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Chase had never particularly liked either, but Riley had expressed a love for them both. With what Chase had done, eating some sub-par chicken and ice cream was nowhere near a punishment. In fact, he wasn't sure if all of the presents were quite enough. He could only hope Riley forgave him.

Picking up the flowers, Chase poked his head into the lounge and listened carefully for the sound of the shower running. He heard nothing, which wasn't the best sign. If Riley wasn't in the lounge or the bathroom, that meant he was in the bedroom... the very lockable bathroom.

"Riley?" Chase called as he approached the bedroom door, knocking with his empty hand. "Can I come in, love?"

There was silence. Chase could only sigh.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, hoping Riley could hear him through the door. "You're not an idiot. You're the smartest person I've ever met. I just... god, Riley, I can't let anything happen to you. We fight off giant monsters on a daily basis and every time we do, all I hope is that I don't lose you. You're everything to me, Riley, and it terrifies me but I love you too much to care. I'm sorry." Biting his lip, he lay the flowers at the base of the door, blinking away the tears that had formed in his eyes. Without another word, he went back to the table to put away the gifts for a better day.

Something was wrong with Riley, whether he wanted to admit it or not. Chase needed to find out what.


	5. Day Five

On the fifth day, Riley woke up alone.

The bed was colder than it usually was, and the lack of arms around his waist made him curl even tighter in on himself. At least he could move that day.

Chase's words had hurt more than any ever had before, even those of the kids who mocked him in school for being a 'queer country hick'. Punches and kicks from monsters were easy to handle, but in less than fifteen words Chase had made his entire world collapse.

Sniffling quietly, Riley looked over at the bedside table. The bouquet of flowers he had found last night was sitting atop it, concealing his communicator. (He really didn't need any calls from Kendall about urgent messages or Shelby saying she hoped everything was okay, no matter how nice their intent was.) In front of it were two of his favorite pictures, framed by Tyler for his birthday. One was of them in uniform minus the helmets, smiling at the camera after a victory, sweaty but both completely wrapped up in each other's arms. The other was a candid shot that he hadn't known existed until Tyler handed it over: sitting on their lounge couch, kissing each other gently, hands intertwined. 

Riley didn't realize he was crying until he let out a soft sob, sniffling again as he raised the sleeve of Chase's sweatshirt to wipe at his eyes. He needed to talk to Chase. That was most important. No matter what else happened that day, they were going to talk.

After a few more moments wrapped up in Chase's warm sweatshirt, trying to calm himself down, Riley managed to force himself into a standing position. He walked through the halls blearily, only just barely hearing the noise of his boyfriend's snores coming from the lounge. The realization that Chase had slept on the couch made his heartache greater than he could have thought possible. 

He stumbled into the bathroom after a few moments, looking over himself in the mirror. Tear tracks seemed to be tattooed onto his cheeks, eyes cloudy with tears and exhaustion, skin paler than he remembered it. His hair was sticking out in all directions, and he raised a hand to fix it.

He only touched his hair for a moment when he realized something that made his blood run cold. Slowly, he removed his hand from his hair, not stopping to blink as he lowered it down to his eyes.

Covering all of his fingertips were tiny, pointed, mint-green gems.

Riley stared at his hand for a few moments before screaming, rushing backwards as if he could escape from himself, only to bash into the wall and crash to the floor. He noticed with horror that his toes were covered in the gems as well, to the point where his socks were almost ripped apart.

Just when Riley was about ready to consider that he'd gone completely insane, Chase slammed the door open, falling to his knees in front of him. "Hey, hey, I'm here, I'm here," he whispered, voice cracked and dry from sleep. Trying by now to focus on anything but the current situation, Riley tried to keep himself locked on Chase's warm but bloodshot eyes, the only thing keeping him tethered to the earth.

"Riley, love, what's wrong? What happened?" Chase asked, the panic in his voice rising. He placed both of his hands on Riley's shoulders, feeling how much he was trembling, seeing his chest rise and fall faster than it should. "Breathe, babe, c'mon. What happened?"

Letting out a choked, strangled sob, Riley raised his hand to reveal the gems. They looked almost a sickly color in the light now, a mockery of his current panic.

If Chase was worried, he didn't seem to show it, instead reaching his hand out to take Riley's. "What are these?" he whispered, tugging on one to attempt to pull it off. 

Instantly, Riley let out an almost animalistic cry of torture, yanking his hand out of Chase's and cradling it to his chest. Tears began to stream down his cheeks as his body shook harder, too overwhelmed with panic and pain to let him speak.

Through his panic, Riley managed to pick up on Chase's hands ghosting over his arms, rubbing small circles into them, even as they, too, trembled in fear. After a few moments, Chase choked out, "We need to see Keeper about this.

Riley was too exhausted to argue.

 

"Keeper," Chase gasped out as he ran into the base, cradling Riley close to his chest, afraid to let him go. "Something's wrong with Riley."

Kendall and Keeper both turned toward him, the latter sighing gently. "Yes, I know."

"You know?" Chase repeated in disbelief. Riley turned his head out slightly, glancing towards Keeper.

Their mentor nodded quietly with a sigh. "Yes. While I was searching for the Energems, I received a vision of great danger befalling Riley. I returned after Kendall contacted me and told me of your conflicts."

Chase bit his lip sheepishly at the mention of their arguing, leaning down to kiss Riley's forehead as he curled up to his chest again. "I apologize if I was too blunt in my words," Keeper spoke up, sensing their awkwardness. "Please, Chase, bring Riley forward."

There was a moment of hesitation before Chase stepped forward, placing Riley down on the center countertop. He kept holding his hand, careful of the gems along his fingers. Slowly, Riley held up his free hand, allowing Keeper to take a look at the crystals.

"Hmm," Keeper murmured, deep in thought for a few moments. "What was the name of the villain you defeated, the day before I departed?"

"Chrystalis," Riley recalled quietly. "She shot something at me... I didn't think it was anything."

Chase refrained from berating Riley about how stupid he'd been to keep his fears from the rest of them, just listening intently to Keeper as he sighed. "It is worse than I thought."

"What is it?" Kendall asked from Keeper's side. "If it's something to do with the beam, I'm sure I can run some scans and attempt to extract-"

"I am afraid it will not be that easy," Keeper corrected her gently before turning back to the couple. "Chrystalis not only received her power from jewels. Sledge sent her because she possessed the ability to turn anything into gemstones."

Chase furrowed his brow in confusion, especially as Riley's eyes seemed to widen in fear. "What does that mean?"

"The blast from Chystalis' weapon has begun slowly using the energy from the Energem that has bonded with Riley and exporting it to external crystals."

The sheer look on Riley's face was enough to make Chase feel weak, but he forced himself to ask, "And what does that mean for him?"

"Riley's body will slowly become encased in the gems until he is completely trapped inside them," Keeper told them. "After that point, he will... cease to be."

There was silence in the lab as the group took in the news. Chase moved his arm, wrapping it tightly around Riley's waist, not realizing he was holding his breath. Riley swallowed thickly, managing to force out, "How much time do I have? Until..."

"If I were to guess," Keeper said, "I would estimate five days at most."

"Bullshit," Chase immediately snapped, feeling fury burn in his eyes.

Kendall jumped forward, "Chase, do not speak-"

"Don't tell me how to speak to anyone," Chase snarled towards her. "This is all bullshit. Riley only got hit a few days ago. It was _one_ blast. He's not going anywhere."

"Chase, stop-"

"You're out of line-"

_"Shut up!"_

Chase's scream made the lab go silent once again. His burning eyes darted between Keeper and Kendall, looking for any signs of disagreement for him to speak out against.

"Chase?" 

Riley's voice was what made Chase suddenly soften, turning back and kneeling down only to see tears in his eyes again. "Don't yell at them... please. I'm tired of yelling," he whispered. Chase immediately nodded, leaning in to kiss Riley's forehead. 

"Okay, love. I won't yell," Chase whispered, taking the moment to steal a kiss from Riley's lips. _Don't think about it,_ he told himself. _Don't think of the fact that you only have five days of kisses left and it's not enough and don't think of Riley leaving. Don't._

They kissed for far too short of a time, Chase's hand reaching up to cup Riley's cheek, stroking his thumb across it. Behind him, he could hear Kendall and Keeper walking off, something that made him remember to apologize later.

Their kiss broke when Riley sobbed, pulling apart to lean his head into Chase's shoulder. Chase wrapped his arms tightly around Riley, softly rubbing his arms.

"It's alright," he whispered, though it wasn't.

Riley just let out another shuddering breath. "I'm sorry," he whimpered out, clinging to Chase's shirt as tightly as he could without digging the gems in. "I should have listened to you, I should have just stayed home-"

"Hey, hey, shh," Chase whispered in return, kissing the top of Riley's head. "It's alright. There was nothing you could do. We didn't know about this."

"But I could have delayed it," Riley sniffled, burying his head into the crook of Chase's neck. He sobbed once more before whispering something that took Chase's breath from him. "Oh, god, I'm going to die."

Chase went to shush him, but couldn't bring himself to. Riley was right. Infuriatingly, excruciatingly right. 

They stayed in silence for a while, Chase just attempting to remain upright, holding to Riley tighter with every passing second. It seemed as if a thousand years had passed before Riley finally pulled apart, green eyes rimmed with red. 

"We can't tell the others," Riley spoke, making Chase almost jump in surprise. "Not right now. I don't want them worrying about me."

"They're going to worry no matter what."

"You know what I mean," Riley whispered. "If I can't fight, they're going to have to. And they can't be stuck worrying about me."

Chase was about to argue with him, but just closed his mouth, remembering what Riley had said. "Okay. Whatever you want, love."

Riley shifted around in Chase's arms. "I love you," he whispered, and though it wasn't the first time they had said it, it felt the same.

"I love you too, babe," he whispered back, a secret for only them. 

They were silent for a while before Riley murmured, "Can we go back to kissing?"

Chase had to laugh to keep himself from bursting into tears. "Yeah. Yeah, we can."

And so they did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so do y'all hate me as much as I hate me
> 
> please send your thoughts to milocawthorne.tumblr.com :)

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is milocawthorne if you want to talk.


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